


Balance Is Overrated.

by kotabear24



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Roller Coaster, M/M, POV Male Character, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-25
Updated: 2013-05-25
Packaged: 2017-12-12 22:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/816646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kotabear24/pseuds/kotabear24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anon prompt: Preferably from Liam's pov but idc (not first person tho) liam watches louis slowly slip away from his fingers. he remains quiet and silent and patient but always observing, guarding a heart that doesn't belong to him. harry is relentless and charming and dangerous and louis is blind with love. harry and louis are like a teeter-totter, never balanced.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Balance Is Overrated.

Liam saw it. Of course he did. He was _Liam_.

He saw the way Louis watched Harry, regardless if Harry was across the room or right next to him or in his lap.

Harry paid Louis the attention - even in front of cameras - Liam was always afraid to give. Harry was handsome and charming, charismatic. He had this _presence_ about him which just drew attention; Harry was the only thing Louis could focus on for more than a few minutes. Harry smiled at Louis a lot and didn’t chastise him the way Liam did. Harry played with Louis, unlike Liam, who tried to calmly convince Louis why the ideas the crazy boy came up with were bad ones (who comes up with a plan to wake Zayn up with an entire pound of sticky-notes and a bucket full of molasses? _Who does that?_ ).

And Liam loves Harry like he would if Harry truly were his brother - he loves Niall and Zayn that way, too - so he can’t even be put off by it. Harry just _shined_ in a way Liam didn’t feel he ever could.

That didn’t stop Liam from guiltily hoping, or following Harry and Louis’ ever-growing relationship with analytical eyes. Liam studied them more than he _ever_ studied for his exams back home. Something was _off_ about the relationship, no matter what Louis and Harry tried.

They never seemed to balance each other. Harry wasn’t Louis’ opposite. Harry wanted just the same things Louis did - the exact same things. They both wanted to be cuddled, to be silly and mess about with a serious person, to hatch wild schemes and have those same schemes humored. But they didn’t want to do the cuddling, or be the serious person to be messed with, or humor the crazy schemes.

They didn’t _fit_. But they kind of did, at the end of the day, because it was Harry who got to be Louis’ best mate. Harry was Louis’ home, his safety, his whole heart. Harry was who made Louis happy. Harry gave Louis a reason to be silly and goofy and caring, and sometimes emotional and grumpy and jealous. It was a roller-coaster, their relationship. They would fight wretchedly, and make up a few hours (sometimes even minutes) later, and have (noisy) make-up sex they’d both rave about for days, and get into a honeymoon phase, all over again and things would be perfection…until they would fight wretchedly, and…and Liam hated it, but at least Harry never hurt Louis beyond repair.

Sometimes Louis would call Liam, crying or yelling, and tell Liam to open his bloody door before or he'd wake up the entire complex. Liam wouldn’t even bother hanging up; he’d just drop the phone where he was and rush to the door. Louis would fall into Liam’s arms and cry and weep and sob and moan about Harry and _why didn’t Harry understand him and love him enough to just do know what Louis needed_. Or Louis would fall into Liam’s arms and rage and muffle his screams in Liam’s shoulder and punch Liam’s chest weakly and kick Liam’s door and cry about _why didn’t Harry just give him space sometimes_ or why didn’t Harry understand that Louis didn’t like being ignored or rejected or _why didn’t Harry just agree with him on this or that_. Liam would let Louis do whatever Louis needed - and Liam always did the right thing, because he knew Louis better than Harry ever would - and Louis would be okay and curl up in Liam’s lap and they would watch telly or they would do a twitcam or something to pass time while Harry cooled off or got drunk or sobbed brokenly about the same things. Louis would get better and crawl from Liam’s lap and stretch, every time, kiss Liam on the cheek and go back home and love Harry like his very life depended on it. Because it kind of did. To him, at least.

Liam would have balanced with Louis. The calm and the crazy. The sensible and the silly. The caring and the cuddly. They fit, like yin and yang, or whatever. Liam knew Louis’ heart and soul and voice and face and hair and teeth and hands. Louis came to Liam for everything, be it Harry advice or singing advice or not even advice at all. Louis and Liam would have been perfect. But Louis needed his dysfunctional Harry in order to be happy, and Liam needed _Louis_ happy.

So Liam watched daily, hourly, by the minute, the second, his whole heart and love and soul as he loved someone else with his whole heart and love and soul. Liam never said anything to Louis, and eventually, Liam found a girl called Danielle who could make him smile like Louis did. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was close enough, and Liam opened up to Danielle and gave her so much pent-up love and devotion it sometimes drove Danielle crazy.

Louis came over to congratulate Liam after Liam told Danielle he loved her for the first time. Louis was the first to come over, although he was the last to hear about it, and he crawled up in Liam’s lap and listened intently as Liam described his new Danielle to him. Louis never told Liam how jealous he was, or how lucky he thought Danielle was. It was a guilty thought, because he had his Harry, and that’s why Louis never said anything about it. However, Louis did Direct Message Danielle. Nothing mean; he just told Danielle to make sure she doesn’t break his Liam’s heart.

Louis could have balanced with Liam. The crazy and the calm. The silly and the sensible. The cuddly and the caring. Louis just needed his Harry, and Liam just needed his Danielle.

It wasn’t a balance or a perfect fit, but balance is overrated, anyway.


End file.
